Let Them Play Outside! (Bilingual)

Having healthy kids are such a bless for every parents, including me. The thing is that there is not enough space for children to have fun in the city. I am lucky that I choose to stay in a city but up further near the mountain, so still there are natural spaces for my children to play. But, there is problem as well, a lot of parents are too afraid letting their children to enjoy themselves playing outside for the reasons of safety.

Punya anak yang sehat tentunya dambaan setiap orang tua, termasuk saya sendiri. Sayangnya, sulit mencari tempat bermain bagi anak yang tinggal di koya. Beruntung saya memilih tinggal di kota tetapi agak naik ke gunung sehingga masih banyak tempat Alamo untuk anak-anak bermain. Namun ada problem lainnya juga, banyak orang tua yang terlalu banyak melarang anaknya bermain di luar dengan alasan keamanan.

I had to had arguments with my parents as well when they saw me letting my kids to learn how to climb the tree and wall. They were afraid that my kids will fall and got injured. I told my parents that all children should learn balance their body, build their muscles, and be as flexible as possible. Nothing to worry, all we need is to teach them and keep an eye on them. Worry too much will not help my children at all.

Saya sendiri harus berdebat dulu dengan orang tua saya sewaktu mereka melihat saya membiarkan anak-anak belajar naik pohon dan panjat dinding. Mereka takut anak saya jatuh dan terluka. Saya jelaskan bahwa anak butuh belajar keseimbangan, memperkuat otot dan fleksibilitas tubuhnya. Tidak ada yang perlu dikhawatirkan selama diajarkan dan terus dipantau oleh kita. Terlalu khawatir tidak membantu anak saya sama sekali.

I feel sorry for children who are not allowed to have fun outside, do not learn to enjoy the nature. I don't understand why they think that gadget is much safer than the nature. I can see that nowadays children are playing too much with gadget and do not move their body at all. They need exercise to get healthy, they need to move their body. Get sweat!

Saya kasihan sama anak-anak yang dilarang berkenan go senang di luar rumah, yang tidak dapat menikmati alam. Saya tidak mengerti mengapa banyak orang tua yang merasa lebih aman bila anaknya bermain dengan gadget dibandingkan dengan bermain di alam bebas. Saya melihat anak-anak sekarang kurang bergerak, asyik saja terus bermain dengan *gadget * mereka. Sementara untuk sehat, mereka harus olah raga dan bergerak. Harus berkeringat!

Looking at these kids food consumptions make me feel even more amazed. They used to have too much junk foods and street foods which are not healthy at all. This conditions will not help those kids to grow as healthy person. Today they will look fine, but as they grew up later, then problems will come out one by one. All happened not because of years having very bad habits, which supported by their own parents.

Melihat apa yang dimakan anak-anak sekarang makin membuat saya semakin terheran-heran. Mereka terlalu banyak makan junk food dan jajan di luar yang sama sekali tidak sehat. Kondisi ini membuat mereka tumbuh menjadi anak yang sama sekali tidak sehat. Sekarang mungkin tidak apa-apa tetapi begitu mereka dewasa, masalah akan muncul satu persatu. Semua terjadi akibat pola hidup dan kebiasaan buruk selama bertahun-tahun, yang justru didukung oleh orang tua mereka sendiri.

I know how difficult it is to control our mind and feelings toward our children. But true love is about giving all the best for them, which means we can not destroy our own childrens just to comfort ourselves. We have to think further about their future and let them play outside. Playing is not as bad as we thought, in fact, playing outside is part of their learning process that will help them a lot. Not only to make them healthy, but also to make them have ability to survive.

Saya paham sulitnya menjadi orang tua yang mampu mengendalikan pikiran dan rasa kita sendiri terhadap anak. Sayang anak sepatutnya adalah memberikan mereka yang terbaik, bukan malah merusak hanya karena untuk membuat nyaman pikiran kita sendiri saja. Kita harus bisa berpikir jauh ke depan dan membiarkan mereka bermain di luar. Bermain itu tidak seburuk yang kita pikirkan, malah sebenarnya bermain di luar adalah proses belajar bagi anak yang sangat berguna bagi mereka kelak. Bukan hanya membuat mereka sehat, tetapi juga membuat mereka tahu bagaimana bertahan hidup.

Bandung, 13 July 2018

Warm Regards - Salam hangat selalu,

Mariska Lubis